ABC/Craig Sjodin
They’re Here! Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia Announced as Season 19 Bachelorettes
Continuing their journey! Both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were named as The Bachelorette stars for the show’s 19th season.
“You truly are deserving of this,” told both women following the show’s groundbreaking announcement that there will be two Bachelorettes, one season.
As Clayton Echard‘s journey came to an end on Tuesday, March 15, the new leading ladies’ began.
“We’ve been through the most crazy experience together,” Rachel told fans. Gabby added, “I’m a girls’ girl through and throug, so having a friend by my side is the best thing that I could have asked for.”
Gabby and Rachel made their Bachelor Nation debut earlier this year by stealing Clayton’s heart. After the former Bachelor announced that he had fallen in love with all of his final three contestants, he broke up with them both for fellow contestant .
Gabby, 31, made headlines when she confronted the Missouri native during the Monday, March 14, episode.
“I don’t think he’s being fair right now,” the Denver native declared during a confessional. “I don’t think you tell multiple women that you love them thinking that there would be no consequences knowing that there’s steps along the way that we have to get through. For him to say that ‘the woman I walk out with is the woman I love the most?’ Like, wrong f–king answer.”
After turning down Clayton’s rose during fantasy suites week, she declared, “I’m not in the business of competing with anyone for love.”
While some social media users noted that “competing for love” is the whole premise of the show, Gabby was praised for her reaction to Clayton’s confession. She eventually accepted the rose to finish out the rest of her time on the season.
Rachel, 26, for her part, broke down in gut-wrenching sobs that echoed throughout the Rose Ceremony from hell.
“I feel really heartbroken,” she told Bachelor viewers on Monday night. “I literally never thought there could be a chance he could be in love with three of us. In love! It feels like it meant nothing. I’m just supposed to get my heart broken for the chance that he might love me a little bit more than others?”
During Tuesday night’s episode, Clayton broke up with both Gabby and Rachel together before speaking with them separately.
“I really don’t have anything to say,” Gabby shared. Rachel said, “You gave up on us. You gave up. I never gave up.”
Both women were able to confront the Missouri native during the live portion of the two-night finale.
“Before having watched it back I truly felt we were on our own journey … watching it back everything is muddled and you were clearly pitting us against each other,” Gabby told him. “It really seemed like a competitions which I had expressed to you that I didn’t want to be a part of.”
Rachel shared, “I don’t believe you were in love with me at all. I don’t even know what your version of love is now since we last talked about it. I know I loved you, that was really obvious.”
Now, it’s time for fans to watch their journey for love.
